Pillar(5)arenes

Pillar[n]arenes are tubular molecules able to bind smaller molecules inside them. Pillar[5]arenes were first synthesised in 2008 and have since shown great potential to be used as sensor molecules.

Project timeframe

The project began in 2012 and is ongoing.

Project aims

Pillar[5]arenes are being functionalised so that they can be bound to surfaces and used as sensors for chemical species as diverse as lithium cations and odoriferous biogenic amines which signal food spoilage.

Project findings and impact

Pillar[5]arenes have been incorporated into graphite electrodes where they selectively detect sodium cations across the clinically relevant concentration range. Other derivatives function as low pH sensors in PVC membranes, as lithium cation selective modifiers to gold electrodes and as sensors for linear biogenic amines. Further work is investigating their potential to act as ‘supramolecular protecting groups’.